Fertility Acupuncture Wellington

What is Infertility?

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Infertility is defined as inability to get pregnant despite frequent, unprotected sexual intercourse (usually for over a year for most couples).  Infertility can occur due to a number of reasons related to the male, female or a combination of both partners in a couple.  At least 50% of problems related to fertility are related to male factor issues.  Some women facing issues conceiving may have other symptoms such as irregular or absent menstruation or certain medical conditions such as hormonal imbalances, poly cystic ovarian syndrome or poor ovarian reserve.  Some men may have hormonal imbalance signs such as changes in hair growth or sexual function, medical conditions such as testicular, prostate or sexual problems or low sperm count or other sperm problems. 

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Infertility according to Chinese Medicine

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Chinese Medicine recognizes a number of different reasons why a couple may have trouble conceiving.  I prefer to refer to treatments as fertility support than to treating 'infertility'.  Chinese Medicine is holistic and refers to interrelationships, patterns and the concepts of Yin and Yang.  Yin is cooling, moistening, still and calm while Yang is warming, active and moving.  When Yin and Yang are in balance there is harmony.  In simple terms, difficulty conceiving may be due to what is referred to as an imbalance of ‘Kidney-Yin’ (cold) and ‘Kidney-Yang’ (hot).  ‘Kidney-Yin’ has some correlations to estrogen and sperm count while ‘Kidney-Yang’ shares some similarities to progesterone and sperm motility.  

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However, difficulty conceiving is not always as simple as this and patients often report a number of symptoms that are related to other patterns in Chinese Medicine.  On examination the tongue may show other factors that need to be taken into account.  Some women may feel cold below their belly button indicating what's considered 'cold in the uterus', in these instances moxabustion (moxa) treatment would be used.  This type of treatment would most likely be utilised in treating low sperm motility also in men.  Moxibustion involves burning a special herb over certain points on the body.  Due to this, your acupuncturist will always take a detailed health history and ask about symptoms specific to you in order to identify the individual disharmony occurring for you, and treat you accordingly.

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Lifestyle and diet factors prior to trying to conceive may have resulted in a deficiency in the ‘Kidney’ system (different to your physical Kidneys) that can be addressed in treatments.  Examples include overwork with inadequate rest, poor diet and lifestyle habits, stress, constitutional deficiency, long term illness, stimulant intake and excessive sex (1).   Some patients may have a history of frequent miscarriages.  This is sometimes due to what's termed a 'slippery uterus' in Chinese Medicine, in which case diet changes may be important, or this may be associated with a bearing down sensation, urination urgency or leakage and a pattern of 'Spleen Qi Sinking' or 'Kidney Qi not firm' in Chinese Medicine which would involve a very different treatment approach.

Chinese Medicine has a lot to offer men and women in terms of diet and lifestyle advise to help self-manage some of their symptoms and help improve their chances of conceiving in combination with acupuncture treatment.